In the past, it was common for Hualien-Taitung youths to leave their hometown due to the lack of opportunities to sustain their livelihood. In recent years, the youths have slowly returned, bringing their gained experiences home with them.
This story highlights three youths who returned and shared the efforts they have made in their community.
Chuang Chiao-yun: B&B Hostess Yujoy House Chuang Chiao-yun, an Amis from the Zhenbing Tribe of Taitung, spent nearly 30 years working in Taiwan's west coast and overseas. After returning to her East Coast hometown, she took on the role of hostess at Yujoy House. With no prior experience, she learned how to run a bed and breakfast (B&B) – from basic etiquette of welcoming guests to leading a team, understanding the booking system, accounting, B&B maintenance, and gardening. After three years as Hostess of Yujoy House, Chuang was invited to join ACF's Hawaii Cultural Sustainability Educational Tour. Each year, ACF brings together ten to sixteen Hualien-Taitung youth cultural workers across the private, public, and non-profit sectors. Over ten days in Hawaii, the group observed firsthand how Hawaii preserves and promotes its native culture, creates sustainable tourism, and modernizes tradition. After Chuang's return from Hawaii, she actively connects with like-minded individuals to co-learn and co-organize events, increasing positive influence in the community. Yujoy House was a project initiated by ACF to create constructive change in its community by providing youths with hospitality training and job opportunities. It hires locally sourced goods and produces from neighboring farmers and allows businesses to visit nearby shops, restaurants, and foot reflexology parlors. As part of its mission, 10% of Yujoy House's profit goes back into the village, building water tanks, restoring the community center, and supporting family activities such as “Storytelling with Children,” to name a few.
Wu Mei-fong: Restauranteur Magelahai Restaurant Wu Mei-fong spent many years working as a cook in Taipei. On one occasion, after her return to her native Amis village in Taitung, ACF Chair Stanley Yen spontaneously had her cook a traditional Amis meal for a group of Taipei friends. Within the day, with help from village members to gather fresh produce on land and at sea and using tableware from her home, she put together a meal that impressed the city visitors. This experience encouraged her, for the first time, to pursue a path that would allow her to share her native culture and make a positive mark on her community. As a participant in ACF's Hawaii Cultural Sustainability Educational Tour, the experience widened her horizon. She thrived outside the lecture rooms, noticing details such as the native Hawaiian way of weaving and the goods created from it. She found the tribes using pandanus and coconut fibers for thatching and compared them with a similar shell ginger at home. The dancers at the Polynesian Cultural Center inspired her with their passion and knowledge of their own culture. After returning to Taiwan, she keenly engaged with village members to actively find ways to preserve and showcase their heritage.
Li Ai: Restaurant and B&B Partner Pakelang Li Ai, son of Pakelang's proprietor Hawang, returned from the West Coast years prior because he deeply missed the Hualien-Taitung Ocean. A graduate of Taitung's hospitality school, National Cheng Kung Commercial & Aquaculture Senior Vocational High School, he brings new perspectives to the family business. With his cooking skills, he innovates new dishes with wild-caught fish and mountain vegetables. Li Ai intends to focus on the restaurant's food safety and hygiene by adopting good practices for sanitation. Together with his father, he also hopes to recreate the Pakelang B&B into a stay that is more suited for the modern-day traveler yet maintains its original theme.
Besides the three, many other village youths have begun taking measures to adopt new methods that will help sustain their communities and heritage. Together, they connect and share experiences to regain their culture and confidence.
